Consciousness |

28Mar 2013

Awake While Asleep: Lucid Dreaming

Image Credit: webneel.com

For the typical dreamer, a dream is usually a phenomenon that’s only experienced in hindsight. We may be moved to wonderment by the memory of it, but oftentimes we’ve missed out on the actual moment of participation. What’s more, we may already have begun to alter many of the details due to foggy recollection. We’re thus already experiencing a translation of our dream by the time we awaken.

In order to catch the legitimate experience while it’s actually occurring we have to somehow become conscious and aware in the midst of a dream in progress. This is called lucid dreaming. It is possible, with practice and clear intentions, for us to literally be “awake” while sleeping. We can be as consciously aware inside of a dream as we are in waking life.

A lucid dream will be marked by a moment of recognition. In one way or another, you will find yourself saying, “I think I’m dreaming this right now!” What happens next will be crucial, because it’s very easy for us to slip out of this state of alertness and let our dreams move on without our conscious participation. A lot of literature about lucid dreaming advises us to try and find our hands at this point. This is one simple means of focusing and of holding on to the moment of awareness for as long as possible. Our bodies probably serve as the most trustworthy points of reference for us because we identify ourselves with them so much during our waking hours.

Unfortunately, this moment of lucidity within a dream can be experienced at random times; and many people never arrive at it. How then can we actively seek – or invite – lucid dreams? First we have to believe that such a thing as lucid dreaming is possible. If you look at your dreaming life as just another kind of awareness and experience – the other side of waking consciousness – then it will seem much more feasible for you to remain alert when you enter into this other state.

If you’re clear in your belief that lucid dreaming is a natural process, then you can train your mind to be alert to it with gentle reminders. Simply tell yourself, before going to sleep at night, that you will awaken inside your dreams. We usually don’t carry conscious suggestions with us into the dream state only because we so firmly believe that waking and dreaming are such distinctly different activities. Tell yourself that, although you are about to slip into another realm of consciousness, you will continue to be alert and responsive.

Nightly dream activity typically feels divorced from the rest of life, like a bizarre side-show. Lucid dreaming can teach us that we’re capable of many levels of awareness, and that each one offers valuable treasures of wisdom, knowledge and insight. We can learn how truly flexible consciousness is, and how many different environments it can operate in. Anyone who has been touched by the inexplicable wonder of a dream can learn to carry some of this magic back up into their waking lives. The daily world of ordinary consciousness may never look the same again.

21Mar 2013

How Modern Physics Resonates with Ancient Mysticism

Jason Carr ⋅ 1 Comment

Modern science has always been shadowed by an underlying paradox. Its methods have no basis upon which to define consciousness itself, and yet they are dependent upon human consciousness to provide them with all of the “laws” that they work within the context of. In other words, the scientific method can only assert that various things seem to be true insofar as our own perception goes. This is why new findings are constantly replacing old “truths” in its search for objective certainty. It cannot grapple with what sensory perception actually is (outside of the physical organs that perform it), and yet it must rely upon the evidence provided by the five senses as its only verification of truth.

In its quest to get move closer to the roots of its own methods, and to contend with the mystery of consciousness itself, modern quantum physics has made certain landmark discoveries that echo statements that many mystics and seers have made about the nature of reality since ancient times. The disparity between the scientific and the philosophical approaches to consciousness may not be as wide as humanity has long believed.

Within the workings of quantum theory, atomic and subatomic particles can behave in ways that are utterly contradictory according to our typical understanding of physical reality. Under certain experimental conditions an atom can take more than one path simultaneously, or exist in two places at once. Other experiments have demonstrated that the same principles can apply to larger (i.e., visible) objects as well. These findings mirror the mystical understanding that we exist in more dimensions than just the one that our physical senses perceive.

Mysticism perceives a relationship between the “outer” world of form and an “inner” dimension that creates it and imbues it with life and consciousness. The macrocosm mirrors the microcosm: “As above, so below.” Another central tenet is the idea that we create our own reality as our thoughts and feelings are made manifest.

In the world of modern science, old “laws” are constantly being supplanted by new discoveries. This in itself is a seeming paradox. How can old principles be proved false when we have effectively utilized them for countless inventions and innovations? Breakthroughs in quantum physics have suggested a solution to this apparent contradiction: The scientific method finds what it seeks. When physicists seek to measure electrons as waves then they inevitably see waves. When they go looking for particles they find particles.

It is always easy for us to find “evidence” to support our beliefs because our beliefs generate the “proof” to begin with. Thoughts and expectations have been shown to affect scientific inquiries. In the mystical understanding of reality, form follows thought and focus determines reality. Ancient wisdom is asserting itself in the most modern of technological settings, proving that all our manipulations in the outer world can never divorce us from our dependence upon the inner one. Such developments may serve to heal the age-old rift between psychology and philosophy; between scientific objectivity and inner certainty; between reason and intuition.

28Jan 2013

Beliefs and Questions About the Paranormal

Jason Carr ⋅ 17 Comments

While people of different beliefs from all over the world believe in an afterlife, many of them can’t seem to agree with each other or accept views other than their own. Yet, men have talked about the supernatural since the beginning of time. Recently, authors like Bill Guggenheim, Dr. Raymond Moody, and Dr. Eben Alexander have written books that explore the existence of the consciousness after death.

When science cannot easily explain how things happen, such as paranormal activity, people question whether the phenomenon is true. As in religion and politics, many attribute different meanings to the words and then argue about who is right. Do angels exist? Do they differ from spirit guides? If everything is energy, where do people go when they die? If the Wise Men followed the star in the East, did they use astrology?

Christians believe in life after death. So do metaphysicians, and Muslims. Why, then, is there so much controversy and skepticism of other people’s views? If there is an afterlife, should we doubt near death experiences? For some, the question becomes one of whose experience is authentic. Is it the person with whom they agree? In the Western world, for instance, many doctors give little credence to alternative medicine. But what about the similarities between descriptions of the nervous system and the chakras or the meridians? All of these methods deal with physical anatomy and the vital life energy that stems from the brain, spinal cord, and organs.

Another example is the similarity between the halos seen on early paintings of religious figures and the concept of angels having wings or humans having auras. People sometimes say they have “bad feelings” about emotions or events, and spiritual healers say that “blocked energy” causes disease. Do both of these mean the same thing?

In Hello from Heaven, authors Bill and Judy Guggenheim discuss their research on ADCs, forms after death communication that occur spontaneously, without the help of mediums or other forms of assistance. After interviewing over 3,000 people about their firsthand experiences, the Guggenheims estimated that somewhere between 50 and 100 million people had experienced episodes they interpreted as being messages from loved ones.

In the 1970s, Dr. Raymond Moody brought the phenomenon of near death experiences, or NDEs, to the national awareness with his first book, Life after Life. After four decades or study, Dr. Moody still says that, based on what his patients have told him, he has no doubt the people he has interviewed have experienced a glimpse of the afterlife.

Late last year, the concept of the NDE gained greater exposure with the publication of Dr. Eben Alexander’s Proof of Heaven. A skeptical neurosurgeon who contracted a deadly form of meningitis before slipping into a coma, Dr. Alexander wrote about his brief look at the near death experience. As in all accounts of the supernatural, however, skeptics challenged Dr. Alexander’s claims.

While no one knows for certain the answer to any of these questions, well-respected writers and philosophers have spoken of life after death for centuries. Edgar Cayce, an early 20th century Sunday School teacher known as the Sleeping Prophet, not only believed that people communicate with the astral realm, but he also believed in reincarnation. Emanuel Swedenborg, eighteenth century Swedish theologian, philosopher, and scientific investigator, spent much of his life attempting to explain the supernatural and heavily influenced the work of writers like William Blake and Henry James, as well as mystics like Raymond Moody and Edgar Cayce.

In 1890, the Swedenborg Society summed up their mentor’s teachings in the following statement:

“There are two worlds, a spiritual world where angels
and spirits are, and a natural world where men are.”

Although all of these stories of the supernatural have common threads, they also vary in details. Nevertheless, one common truth lies at the heart of all of these great teachings, from Buddha and Jesus to Mother Teresa and the Dalai Lama. Living beings are all part of one great force, and love is the glue that holds them together.

Reference:

Mobbs D, & Watt C (2011). There is nothing paranormal about near-death experiences: how neuroscience can explain seeing bright lights, meeting the dead, or being convinced you are one of them. Trends in cognitive sciences, 15 (10), 447-9 PMID: 21852181

Feinsod M, & Langer KG (2012). The philosopher’s swoon–the concussion of Michel de Montaigne: a historical vignette. World neurosurgery, 78 (3-4), 371-4 PMID: 22381306

09Jan 2013

Mind Over Evolution: An Alternative Vision of Humanity

Jason Carr ⋅ 7 Comments

consciousness

Part of the reason why fierce debates rage around the origins of man – in the conflicts between Creationism and Darwinism that we see within many schools, for example – is because our beliefs about where we came from can strongly influence our sense of identity and our feelings of self-worth. It’s impossible to separate our self-image from our life philosophies in that regard. The stories we cling to will paint our inner pictures of who we are, where we come from and what our race can achieve.

Unfortunately, the stories that we’ve inherited in our culture paint a fairly unflattering picture that does little to inspire us to discover and express our true potential in this world.

Science spins its own version of reality. If you believe that the sky is blue because of the chemical composition of the gases that exist up there, and the way that light refracts off of them, then that’s all you’ll ever see. You won’t perceive the unfathomable mystery of it all. What is the true nature of light, or gases, or the color blue? Questions like these are beyond our ken. The theory of evolution teaches us that it’s useless to ask such questions anyhow, though. This theory, which forms the backbone of so much scientific thought and of our very definitions of humanity, maintains that matter came first and consciousness emerged later – almost as an afterthought; and certainly by accident.

consciousness (1) What if the mind formed matter? What if consciousness preceded everything else, and created form? Our scientific indoctrination has convinced us that reality works the other way around, but we’ve been offered little actual proof of this. What is obvious, however, is that the belief that consciousness always comes first would do much more to uphold the beauty, grace and potential of our natures than does the belief that our existence was the random result of accidental evolution.

We would do well to adopt stories that inspire us and offer us a new vision of what humanity can aspire to. When trying to grasp the nature of our reality as human beings, and drawing upon the resources that civilization offers us, we’ve thus far been essentially left with a choice between atonement (the predominant religious thinking of the West), accepting that the world we exist in is illusory (the predominant religious thinking of the East), or the theory of evolution. Typically, we are never taught or encouraged to believe that we are, ourselves, divine.

None of the arguments that uphold a notion of a barren and sterile universe can hold water. Most children know better than to believe in those wet-blanket descriptions of reality. Sadly, though, they eventually learn to accept them. How could they not, when our cultural beliefs make their survival virtually dependent upon it?

Love has to come from somewhere. But within the world’s established religions, love always has its conditions; and within the world of science, love can be explained away in terms of neurological transmissions and chemical interactions. It seems that our race, by and large, is willing to accept practically any belief except for one that maintains that what we are is something miraculous.

Most scientists or religious scholars would dispute that we are miraculous, by virtue of being conscious beings. Could it be that consciousness came first; that we did not become humans by accident? What if consciousness created our world in order to express all that it is, and to become better acquainted with itself? If this is true, how might it change the idea that consciousness will arise in machines once we’ve reverse-engineered the brain?

30Nov 2012

The Joys that Dogs Can Bring to Our Lives

Jason Carr ⋅ 12 Comments

A strong and unspoken bond has existed between human beings and dogs for centuries. Even prehistoric man considered dogs to be ideal companions, a fact that is attested by numerous cave paintings and ancient remains. What is it about these animals that brings comfort to our hearts and spontaneous fun into our lives? No doubt there are many factors that contribute to our enduring relationship with them, but most of them are connected with the way that dogs, if treated with love, will reflect that love back to us unconditionally.

The bonds that we form with our canine friends can connect us to a whole world of experience that we otherwise might miss out on in our fast-paced and highly technological society. When a dog stops along a woodland path to investigate a scent or sound, then our attention is drawn there as well. Such experiences bring us in touch with the movements and rhythms of nature, which otherwise can escape our notice in our daily lives. Dogs bring a piece of the wilderness into our homes, and remind us of where we came from.

In effect, they bring nature back into our lives. Their response in the moment is immediate, complete and uninhibited – regardless of the situation. They aren’t burdened with the kind of self-consciousness and reflection that can sap so much of the energy and joy out of our lives. Spending time with dogs, we can begin to tap into that sense of spontaneity and abandon ourselves. Dogs may shy away from certain people or experiences, or react with fear or aggression, but they don’t judge. Once they make up their minds to love us, it will take quite a lot for us to fall out of favor with them.

Because they are so uninhibited, dogs can be ideal icebreakers in our social world. We may feel the impulse to approach someone and then consider a dozen reasons why we shouldn’t, but our canine friends have no such scruples. They express their interest in other people as freely as they express everything else. As a consequence of this, we may suddenly find ourselves engaging in a conversation with a nice and attractive fellow dog-walker in the park. Believe it or not, many an entangled leash has led to a first date or new friendship. Dogs not only can initiate conversation with their very presence, but also give us plenty of things to talk about with people who might otherwise remain strangers.

The connection that exists between dogs and their owners is very old, instinctive, and unconditional. It is also uncomplicated, which can be a very heartwarming thing in this oft-times confused and troubled age. Dogs are present with their feelings and needs in ways that we are oftentimes afraid to be. We can learn a lot from them in that regard, and they’re likely to be patient and forgiving teachers. The effort that they demand from us in terms of feeding, exercise, and attention they repay many times over with loyalty, affection, and sheer enthusiasm for our presence in their lives.

Our Pups:

: Sadie and Brandy

: Zoe Bear

: Lindsey Gray and Brandy

: Gizzy Pooh

: Brandy (Lil’ Bit)

: Sadie

27Nov 2012

The Sources of Violence and Conflict Within Us

Jason Carr ⋅ 6 Comments

By and large, humanity has forgotten the relationship between thoughts and reality. The world that we experience is the reflection of what we carry inside us. Mystics, sages and shamans throughout the ages have tried to remind us of this fact. Western culture has largely turned its back upon such notions, however. Since the Industrial Revolution, we’ve increasingly viewed the world as something separate from ourselves, and thus not responsive to our inner life – something to be manipulated, tamed and conquered. Within the reality painted by such beliefs, thoughts appear to have no influence; and violence seems like power.

When we’re involved in a conflict, it is because something has touched upon an internal wound and/or we’re trying to draw energy from those around us in some way. You could apply this to personal strife as well as to larger global conflicts. Both of these stances are fueled by one underlying assumption: That we do not create our reality for ourselves, but are rather at the mercy of an exterior world separate from us.

The acknowledgment of our personal power to create reality is the key to all forms of healing and problem solving; and the misunderstanding of it is the source of all our problems and sufferings, both individually and collectively. When a country wages war upon another for the sake of resources, it is because of an underlying conviction that abundance is not really created from within. Conflict is always fueled by our ignorance of our own divinely creative natures.

This can be an empowering truth. The next time you feel overwhelmed and insignificant in the face of wars and other predicaments on a mass scale, remind yourself that this world is the mirror of your inner condition. You can then take personal responsibility, explore that inner reality, and see where you are contributing to the light and where you are creating darkness. There is no God to thank or Devil to blame. Tracing everything in our life experience back to their sources within us empowers us to direct our lives in the most positive and expansive way. It also implies that all of our conflicts and dilemmas, collectively, can be conquered with the knowledge and application of our true creative power.

No militaries would exist anywhere in the world if we did not carry the seeds of violence within ourselves. Ages ago, the use of force to settle conflicts was inspired by deep fear within our race. Some of that fear persists today, and is projected upon foreign lands that are then proclaimed our enemies. But much of the persistence of war – of the veritable addiction to violence that afflicts so many people in this world – can be attributed to an underlying sense of powerlessness.

From the standpoint of our separation from our deeper selves, hate seems more powerful than love; and war seems more effective than compassion and understanding. If we don’t understand and feel the connection between our thoughts and our outer experiences, then it seems to us that manipulating the physical environment is the only way to achieve goals and create change. In that arena, so much of the true thrust of love and consciousness becomes invisible. It seems so ineffective alongside a bomb or a machine gun. In reality, it is so much more powerful. Human consciousness created bombs and machine guns in the first place, long before human hands invented them.

Reference:

Pearson DG, Ross FD, & Webster VL (2012). The importance of context: evidence that contextual representations increase intrusive memories. Journal of behavior therapy and experimental psychiatry, 43 (1), 573-80 PMID: 21867664

Grof, S. (1996). Consciousness evolution and planetary survival: Psychological roots of Human violence and greed World Futures, 47 (4), 243-262 DOI: 10.1080/02604027.1996.9972599

09Nov 2012

Symptoms of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

Jason Carr ⋅ 9 Comments

Generalized anxiety disorder (or GAD) involves a core group of physical symptoms along with frequent and uncontrollable worries that are often irrationally intense. It can be difficult to diagnose GAD, as its severity and nature may dramatically vary from person to person. However, the following eleven symptoms are the most common, so if you experience two or more of these in a short period of time, then you should make an appointment with your doctor to discuss how to improve your quality of life by managing your anxiety more effectively.

Restlessness and concentration problems:  If you have GAD, you probably fidget quite often and find it hard to sit still for long periods. You may feel on edge, as though you cannot relax even when you are in a safe environment. In addition, concentration problems are common. It might be tough for you to focus on studying or working, and your short-term memory may be worse than it used to be.
A sense of impending doom:  Most sufferers of GAD regularly experience a crushing and acute sense that something bad is about to happen. This feeling is baseless, but it can crop up in perfectly normal circumstances. When it does, you will suddenly feel as though you are about to die (or about to be in some form of life-threatening danger).
Experiencing fear before or during social events:  While going out to dinner or attending a party should be an exciting and fun event, you might find that such invitations fill you with dread rather than pleasure. GAD sufferers commonly find that they are disproportionately concerned about how to dress, what to say, and how to act in social groups. Additionally, even if you are being treated with kindness and respect during a social outing, you may still experience an increased heart rate, sweaty hands, and the desire to leave as soon as possible.
Feeling out of touch with reality:  This symptom is sometimes called depersonalization, and it tends to make you feel as though you are in a waking dream. You may also experience dizziness and feel as though you are moving at a slightly different speed to everyone else.
Irritability and impatience:  You might snap at other people without thinking, and will probably find that you easily become annoyed by unexpected slowness. Most people with GAD also respond defensively when questioned about their anxiety, knowing that they have irrationally intense fears but feeling extremely embarrassed that an outsider has recognized this.
Obsessing about physical sensations:  Although GAD does not have to be associated with any particular phobias, sufferers are often hypochondriacs. This means that they live in a constant state of fear that something is wrong with their bodies. You might interpret every ache or pain as a symptom of cancer, or you may habitually check yourself for signs that you are having a stroke. This obsession with physical sensations can be especially difficult to live with, as it can create an unproductive loop. Unusual sensations cause feelings of anxiety, but suffering from anxiety can cause unusual sensations (therefore creating even more anxiety).
Heart palpitations:  Anxiety problems are often connected to a fast or irregular heartbeat. Even when your pulse rate is normal, you might notice that you are uncommonly aware of your own heart beating. However, it is important to note that you should always have a racing or irregular heartbeat investigated thoroughly (in order to make sure that you do not have a potentially dangerous heart condition).
Excessive sweating:  GAD is connected to frequent and uncomfortable episodes of sweating. These are usually accompanied by racing heart or particularly strong worries about your own well-being (whether social or physical).
Stomach aches and diarrhea:  Being constantly or frequently anxious can easily leave you with a malfunctioning digestive system. As a result, those who have GAD commonly experience intestinal cramping and loose stools.
Being scared that you are being negatively evaluated:  GAD sufferers often experience acute anxiety at the thought of making a fool of themselves in public, and so social situations are regularly perceived as dangerous chances to be ridiculed. You might even find that you feel uncomfortable just walking down the street, worrying that strangers you encounter are thinking that you are unattractive or poorly dressed.
Poor quality of sleep:  Finally, insomnia is a common symptom of GAD. In addition to have trouble sleeping, you might feel unrested even after a full eight hours of sleep.

Suffering from general anxiety disorder can be very upsetting and confusing, as it often involves periods of intense anxiety during which the cause is not readily identifiable. If you suspect that you might have an anxiety problem, see your doctor as soon as possible. You may be worried that you’ll be viewed as being over-dramatic, but you shouldn’t be. Doctors regularly see and treat people with anxiety issues. Your feelings and concerns will be extremely familiar to your doctor, and they will put you on the path towards managing your anxiety more effectively (using medication, therapy, or a combination of both).

Reference:

Dupuy, J., & Ladouceur, R. (2008). Cognitive processes of generalized anxiety disorder in comorbid generalized anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 22 (3), 505-514 DOI: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2007.05.010

Barrera, T., & Norton, P. (2009). Quality of life impairment in generalized anxiety disorder, social phobia, and panic disorder Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 23 (8), 1086-1090 DOI: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2009.07.011

Lawrence, A., & Brown, T. (2009). Differentiating Generalized Anxiety Disorder From Anxiety Disorder Not Otherwise Specified The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 197 (12), 879-886 DOI: 10.1097/NMD.0b013e3181c29992

Additional Learning Resources:

21Aug 2012

Carl Jung’s Archetypes

Jason Carr ⋅ 4 Comments

Carl Jung (1875–1961)

One of Carl Jung’s most compelling and unique contributions to the understanding of human psychology was his idea of the collective unconscious and the archetypes within it. It was through this insight that Jung made the ancient and archaic relevant to the world of today. The collective psychological experiences of humanity were suddenly seen as impacting and shaping the way every human being saw the world.

In order to understand archetypes we must understand the nature and function of the collective unconscious. According to Jung, the collective unconscious is not like the personal unconscious as first introduced by psychoanalysis. It is detached from the personal unconscious because it belongs to the human species as a whole. It is inherited, just as physical aspects of our bodies are inherited. Because of this, a human being does not enter the world as a blank slate but rather with the innate and inherited tendencies of the collective unconscious. These tendencies are what Jung termed “archetypes.”

The word “archetype” can be defined as a model, a prototype, something which serves as a pattern for other things. Jung’s usage of the term meant much the same thing. He envisioned archetypes as enduring patterns and models within the collective unconscious which act as a matrix through which the world is experienced. It is helpful to liken archetypes to instincts. Instincts result in the “fight or flight” reaction in response to startling stimuli just as archetypes of the feminine and masculine help us to organize and divide the world. Both of these processes happen at an unconscious level, the difference being that Jung saw instincts as physical and archetypes as psychological/psychical.

There are many archetypes, perhaps even in infinite number of them. However, there are a few that seem to stand out for encompassing much of our experience and for their presence in almost all cultures throughout the world. Two of these are the already mentioned masculine and feminine images. The archetype of the hero is also one that is common to almost all people. Though everyone might have slightly different image of what makes a hero, it is generally embodied in the person who struggles, fights, and wins against adversity.

The most important archetype in Jung’s psychology was what he termed “the self.” The self is the ideal form of a person. It is the whole and complete personality, the integration of a person’s conscious and unconscious life. Jung thought that most people could not properly relate to the self because their weak and fragmented egos could not handle it. For this reason, the archetype of the self is usually seen as something other than oneself. It is projected into the world in the forms of gods and saviors. These god and savior figures represent the whole, complete, and perfect image of the self.

There are many forms which archetypes can take. Close friends, warriors, politicians, or brilliant scientists can all be images of the hero to different people. The self is not necessarily only projected onto gods and saviors, but onto anyone who is perceived to be a whole and integrated person, such as a strong leader. Though the images of archetypes may vary in the real world, what they have in common is that they are all influenced, shaped, and filtered by the dynamic, archetypal patterns found in the collective unconscious of humanity.

15Aug 2012

Sigmund Freud and the Primordial Murder

Jason Carr ⋅ Leave a Comment

Sigmund Freud, the founding father of psychoanalysis, is well known for his strange and controversial theories on such topics as personality development, sexuality, and the unconscious. His theory about the basis of all religion, as presented in the book “Totem and Taboo,” is no less contentious. In this book Freud presents the idea that all religion stems from a primordial murder.

Freud begins his discussion in “Totem and Taboo” by considering a primal, savage tribe. In this tribe there existed a violent and cruel father who drove his sons away from the hoard so that he could keep all of the females for himself. The banished brothers joined forces and worked together to kill the father. To celebrate the accomplishment of their task the brothers threw a feast and ate their murdered father.

According to Freud, this cannibalism was an attempt by the sons to identify with a father who they feared and yet envied. They were ambivalent to the father. They hated him for being jealous and cruel but they also respected him for his strength and power. Upon eating the father, the brothers were able to symbolically take his strength and power for themselves. This feast, said Freud, marked the beginning of religion.

Once the brothers completed their identification with the father and satisfied their hatred of him, the tender impulses that they had previously suppressed began to surface. Now they felt a sense of remorse and created a father substitute, a totem. To assuage their guilt they forbade the killing of this totem. By treating the father substitute in this way they attempted to bring about reconciliation him.

Freud argues that the primal murder went on to determine the character of every religion. To him, all religion is an attempt to alleviate the feelings of guilt. As time went on, humans created the various gods of the various faiths in the world today. All of these gods remained at their core an exalted image of the father. It was to this image that one could offer conciliations as apology for the long forgotten but psychologically embedded murder.

Freud, in his usual fashion, throws the reader for a loop by admitting that this hypothetical primordial murder may have actually never happened. He contends that all that was necessary for the creation of religion was simply the longing to kill the father, but not the act itself. Just the thought of patricide may have been enough to create what he saw as the hallmark of religion – an exalted father figure.

Most people are not likely to agree with Freud in this day and age. Still, it is sometimes said that once you read Freud you begin to see him everywhere. An exalted father figure does seem to be present in many religions, as does an attitude of ambivalence towards a god who is feared and yet loved. Whether this really came from the murder and cannibalization of a primordial father is speculative at best. Freud himself backed away from the literal truth of this idea. His main purpose seems to have been to show that the unconscious psychological conflicts which influence everything else in our lives have also influenced and maybe even created religion.

24Jul 2012

The Relationship Between Freud and Jung

Jason Carr ⋅ 6 Comments

Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung were colleagues and leading figures in the field of psychiatry in their day. This naturally led to a strong relationship filled with many meetings and numerous correspondences. In total they sent over 350 letters to each other. However, the story of their relationship is more the story of a relationship gone awry. Their close friendship only flourished for a few years before they decided to go their separate ways.

The first known correspondence between Freud and Jung took place in the year 1906, when Jung sent Freud a copy of his book, “Studies in Word Association.” When the two were finally able to meet in 1907 in Vienna, they sat and talked for thirteen hours straight. It seemed that they got along wonderfully. From that day until 1909, their letters were filled with father-son references. Freud took an obviously paternal role to Jung, writing in one letter, “I formally adopt you as eldest son and anoint you . . . as my successor and crown prince.”

Freud, because of the part of his Oedipal theory that said all sons harbored a death wish onto their father, was under the impression that Jung had an unconscious death wish towards him. He blamed Jung’s eventual dissent on this unresolved oedipal problem. On a few occasions this thought seemed to have worried Freud so much that it caused him to faint.

Another source of tension between the two was that Jung viewed Freud’s psychoanalysis as sexually repressive, and wanted to advocate for greater sexual freedom. This was in direct confrontation to Freud, who wanted Jung to promise never to abandon the sexual theory. In fact, he insisted that Jung make it unquestionable dogma. Jung was of the opinion that Freud was no longer using scientific judgement, and wondered why he placed such an importance on sexuality.

Jung was also heading in a direction that Freud did not like with his research as he began looking at mysticism and occultism. He became interested in gods, archetypes, the collective unconscious, and the shadow side of man. He wanted Freud to join in to the crusade to conquer occultism. Freud, though he said that he did not wish to hold Jung back, also wanted nothing to do with it. By May of 1912, Freud had begun to distance himself from Jung’s ideas. Finally on January 3, 1913 he wrote, “I propose we abandon our personal relations entirely.”

Though intense as the relationship between Freud and Jung initially was, it only managed to last roughly six years due to diverting interests and oedipal worries. However, those six years contributed greatly to the future work of both men and left an undeniably important mark in their psychoanalytic field. The ideas and theories that they worked on both together and apart are still discussed by psychologists, psychiatrists, philosophers, and various scholars today.